The Meaning of Arrogance
by Kenta Raikiri
Summary: The more Luigi looks at it, the more Arrogant Mario seems. With some inspiration from an unlikely source, Luigi's out to change Mario's attitude, whatever the cost. Some LuigiXPeach at the end. ;P Rated K/T. Minor violence/Comedic violence.
1. The Challenge

Kenta: This is one of those, GET IT OFF-A MY CHEST! things...sorry, deal with me for awhile.

* * *

Luigi watched as Mario overthrew Bowser for the billionth time before walking casually over to Peach's little prison and breaking the lock easily. As he took Peach's hand and led her out of the creepy castle, Luigi sighed.

"He's doing it again..."

"Grr....what?" Bowser said as he got up and cracked his now stiff neck. "And why aren't you freaking out like you usually do?" The Koopa King asked curiously.

"It doesn't matter...the more my bro beats you, the more arrogant he becomes. I just wish he would learn his lesson...THAT'S IT! Thanks Bowser! You're a genious!" Luigi yelled before running off.

The Koopa King merely stared at the retreating form of the younger plumber before shaking his head. "I helped? With WHAT!?"

He would soon find out.

Mario walked ahead of Peach and started signing the autographs that he'd started doing lately. Since he had saved the Princess so often, it was only natural that he'd gotten his very own fan club. Though it wasn't helping the Princess's mood.

"AAUUGH!....!" Peach growled as she stomped inside of the castle. "He's such an arrogant jerk! The only reason he saves me anymore is because of his stupid little fanclub! UGH! I HATE HIM!"

"Hate, is a strong word, madame." A suave voice said.

Peach whirled around to find someone she'd hoped she would never see again.

"What's the matter dear? Surprised?"

"Yes...how did you take over again?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter, but you...your majesty, that's a more pressing matter..."

"What are you-!?"

The figure quickly ran over and pressed a cloth to the Princess's face, making her faint into his arms.

"Heheheheh, this stuff never ceases to amaze me." The figure chuckled before swinging the princess over his shoulder.

He dropped the cloth on the ground and stepped out to the balcony, looking down upon Mario and his fanclub. With one loud phrase, the figure raised his glowing green hand.

"HAVE AT YOU, MARIO SEGALE!"

The green lightning struck Mario so fast, the porky plumber didn't even realize he was hit. As Mario shook his head, he looked up and gasped.

"YOU!"

"HAHAHAHA! Did you think I would just disappear without having my revenge!? Do not worry, for I will not kill her....yet." The figure said, revealing the unconcsious princess before turning away, flashing his cape to the crowd.

"Let it be known, that I, Mr. L, The Green Thunder, have challenged the impudent Mario Segale, to a DUEL! The prize shall be the princess! The loser, Mario, will....well, I don't think I need to say it." Mr. L said grinning to the crowd.

"GIVE BACK THE PRINCESS!" Mario yelled to the masked man.

"FIND HER!" Mr. L said before raising up his finger.

A flash blinded not only Mario, but the crowd as well. When everyone could see again, Mr. L was gone, along with the princess.

"He'll pay for this..." Mario mumbled before running towards his house.

**~In a Secret Spot 1 day later~ **

"Phew. This has really been a pain in my sides...and how could that guy wear this stuff and NOT get hot!?" The caped figure mumbled to himself, pulling on the fabric of the black outfit.

"Nnng..."

"Whoops! Looks like she's waking up." Luigi said before changing his voice to fit his character. "Welcome, princess, to my humble abode." Luigi said taking a gentlemanly bow to the tied-up princess.

"You! What do you want!?"

"Oh, nothing. Just **REVENGE**."

"What?"

Mr. L turned to the side, a glare gracing his face.

"That porky little plumber has been a thorn in my side for FAR too long...It's time I got some payback for the thrashings he's done to me."

"How can you control Luigi!? He's not like this!"

"Oh, but he is..." The masked man smiled evilly.

On the inside, Luigi's stomach twisted in regret. He had always thought it horrible when he and Mario had always found Peach locked up in a cage. Now, HE was the one who had put her in that position himself.

"In any case, I will not be so caring as the great Bowser and let you deliver your letters to your precious hero." He said turning away.

"Don't call him that!"

This surprised Mr. L, and it showed as he turned around and asked, "Oh? Why not? He IS your little hero after-all."

"Hah! He spends more time making himself look good for his fans then spend time with me!"

"Hoho! So you admit it!"

The princess quirked an eyebrow at this.

"Admit what?"

"That you would rather have him dead."

"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!" Peach said, appalled at the masked man's statement.

"Ahh, but you implied it." Mr. L said as he shook his finger back and forth in a 'tsk' motion. "When you insulted him, you expressed great anger towards him, thus wishing him harm."

"But not death! No-one deserves that! Not even Bowser!" Peach yelled back, not realizing what she had missed out on.

The masked villain simply chuckled.

"Heheh...you truly are a gem, princess." Luigi said before bending in front of the tied-up princess.

He inched closer and closer until she could feel his breath against her face. The heat rose to her cheeks as the masked man was practically eye to eye with her, when suddenly, he stopped.

"As much as I'd love to take your lovely lips, I'm afraid I will have to save that pleasure until AFTER I defeat that scoundral Mario." The masked man said before standing up and walking over to the door to the princess's wooden cage.

Closing the door, Luigi turned around and bowed.

"I'm afraid I will have to leave for now, princess, but I will return, with some food and water. If you would prefer a nap then staring out the window, then by all means, go right ahead." He said before turning around and closing the door.

Peach took a deep breath trying to calm her frantically beating heart before looking around. Now that she actually had time to look around, she noticed the wooden cage she was put into was only part of her room. There was a small fireplace off to the side, as well as a small stone desk.

Wait a minute, a stone desk? She must be on Dinasuar Island! If only she could tell Mario where she was! But...the only way Mario had been able to find her was because Bowser had let her send letters. Even though Mr. L was a gentleman, he didn't let her do so.

Peach tried wriggling around in her bindings, only to find them really well made. Another sigh escaped her lips before she looked across the room, before letting her eyes drift to the soft warmth of her bed.

Wait a minute...soft bed?

The princess looked down to find she was, indeed, on a bed. Not a bed for someone of Royalty, but it was still comfy none-the-less. The most surprising fact that she noticed about it was that it was hand-made. Made from scratch, as all the materials of the bed were natural and there were even the noticably few mistakes of an apprentice carpenter. As she looked around, she could feel her eyes growing heavy.

"Luigi...please wake up..." She said before falling asleep.

Outside, Luigi pulled off his mask before wiping a gloved hand across his sweaty forehead.

"That does it..." He said walking to another building not too far off.

Inside, Luigi stripped himself of the hot sweaty clothes of the green thunder, and changed into a green T-shirt and shorts.

"That's better, now to find some food for the Princess." He said putting on his cap and some sandals.

Luigi walked out and began talking with a few of the residents of the island, some Cavemen and Yoshi. As he laughed along with them, a pink yoshi walked up to him.

"Luigi-san?"

"Yeah?" Luigi said turning to the yoshi.

"Why did you bring a girl into your other summer house? She was all tied up and stuff..." The curiosity of the dragon-lizard could be noticed by a blonde idiot...............maybe.

Luigi didn't even panic as he had already planned this out in case someone asked.

"Ahh, well she's an old friend of mine who has a terrible ill-ness. I brought her out here so she could get some fresh air, since she used to live in the city. And if she starts screaming for help, don't worry about it. She's a little...special, if you know what I mean. She can't think straight as she was kidnapped when she was little, so when she's in an unfamiliar place she thinks she was kidnapped." Luigi lied smoothly.

Heck, half of it was true now that he thought about it.

"Oh, okay. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Hmmm...now that you mention it, I WAS going to go out and get some food and water..."

"I'll help!" The Pink Yoshi pleaded, trying to be of some use to the girl who OBVIOUSLY had great taste in colors.

"All right, thanks!"

And so the two waved goodbye to the others before heading out to get some supplies.

* * *

Kenta: I decided to do SOMETHING, as I havn't posted ANYTHING as of late...and I also did this as a LuigiXPeach pairing.

And people, don't freak out on me, please? I just wanted to do a fanfic where Luigi _LOOKS_ like he's a villain, but he isn't.

Don't worry, this will probably only be 2-3 chapters long, which I have already written by the time I post this...

Anyone wanna guess what Peach missed out on? Free cookie! Just tell me what kind you want!

**_Kenta Raikiri_**


	2. Busted

Mario groaned as he sat down and pulled out his bottle of water. Why was it taking the princess so long to contact him!? He'd been waiting all week and he'd yet to receive ANY kind of message from the princess. He'd once wondered if Mr. L wouldn't let her, but he was a gentleman....right?

"Ugh....where are they?" Mario wondered.

He'd already checked darkland with no luck, and he doubted it was anywhere he knew considering Mr. L was once a servant of Count Bleck, and that was back in Flipside, NOT the Mushroom Kingdom. However, the princess was probably calling for help at this point, and he couldn't disappoint her! Or his fans.

"All right, time to get moving again." He said standing up.

Hitting another '?' block, Mario grabbed the cape and began flying across the kingdom again. He wasn't giving up now, when everything was looking bad. He hadn't in the past, and he wouldn't do it now.

**~Peach~**

The princess had woken up awhile ago, just in time to see Mr. L come in and place some food in her cage. He had put up an electrical barrier around her cage, but undid her bindings, before once again apologizing to her about the irritation they caused her. The more she looked at it, the more Mr. L seemed more....compassionate? Weird.

She sat on her bed, twisting her hair in random circles for a few minutes, letting her mind wander over various things as she always did when she was kidnapped. She hated when she had nothing to do! At least give her a-

WHACK!

Peach looked up to see a book had fallen through the window above her. She quickly scrambled up and looked out to see a Pink Yoshi running off into the woods. Turning back to the book, she realized it was one of her favorite books. Looking back out, she couldn't see the Yoshi anymore, but she discovered the view she had was incredible. She was at the top of a large hill with some trees surrounding her, a small opening to a stream, and a clear view of the western horizen.

Peach sighed once more before sitting back down and opening up her new item of distraction. Had she looked out a moment longer, she would have seen Luigi walking over to the stream getting some water, before casually talking to a few more villagers.

~**In the nearby forest**~

"WAHAHAHAHAA!! This place is perfect for my new mansion!" A white figure cackled evilly. "A creepy forest, bats, some poisonous pits, and best of all, NO LUIGI!"

The laughter of ghosts could be heard echoing from the forest, startling a few villagers.

**~1 month later~**

Luigi sighed. He just had to keep this up for about a week more before he had to reappear before Mario, and he would probably have to hurt him again. Luigi hated it when he had to do that, but he needed to be convincing. If he REALLY was evil, he would have had no trouble killing Mario with that first bolt of lightning, but since he had aimed a _little_ bit to the left, Mario could easily shake it off. Heck, HE could have shaken it off! At least it was convincing enough for Mario, not to mention the Princess. Speaking of the princess, it was about time for Luigi to check up on her.

He quickly changed into his Mr. L outfit, (which he had to clean daily because he was sweating so much in it) and walked over to the princess's abode. Stopping in front of the door, Luigi took a deep breath, before changing his voice into that persuasive way he had always been good at. If he had actually tried, he might've gotten Daisy to be his girlfriend, but he decided they were better off as friends. Besides, he liked sports, but not THAT much....

"She's scary when it comes to motorcross...." Luigi said shuddering.

He slapped himself for losing focus, and entered the house.

~**Mario**~

Mario sighed as he sat at home. There were maps all over his desk, and he couldn't find out why he couldn't find her! He had been searching for more than a month, and he half wished Luigi would be able to take over again, when something hit his front door. Mario jumped before looking to see a Toadstool open the door and pull out a letter from his mail-pack. Mario tore open the top and read every line, hoping it was from the princess.

It wasn't.

_Big Red Meatball,_ (Mario twitched at that)

_So, how are you enjoying the wait? Nice and fun, right? I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your busy busy signing of autographs, but I do recall challenging you to a duel._

_So, as is proper protocol, I have contacted you. You have had the past month to do whatever, and wether you actually trained for our fight or searched for the princess, it does not matter._

_The Dinosaur Island Colosseum is the battlefield we shall fight in. One week from April 23rd. That's the 29th, if your small brain can't think that fast._

_Don't be late for your butt-whoopin!_

_Mr. L _

_The Green Thunder_

Mario crumpled up the letter and stomped out of the house. It was time to get to Dinosaur Island.

As Mario began the trip to the island, Luigi was in his and Mario's summer home, laughing hysterically as he re-read the letter he sent to Mario again.

"I can't believe I actually wrote that," He chuckled as he threw the letter to the other mistakes he had made at first. He had to make sure it didn't reveal anything to Mario, so he would proofread them before finally deciding on the right one.

Luigi composed himself before heading outside to get more food and such. As he walked outside he stopped at the peak of the hill that the houses rested on. Turning to the setting sun, Luigi took a deep breath of the fresh air. Filling his lungs with the pure oxygen, he let his eyes gaze over the sun, completely entranced in it's natural beauty.

His aura of peace was broken as a voice reached his ears.

"Luigi?"

Said plumber jumped before spinning around, finding the princess staring at him with a shocked expression on her face.

"Whoops..." Luigi said as a sweatdrop slid down his head. "And to think I was so close too...."


	3. Arrogance lost

~**A few moments earlier~**

Peach had finished reading her book for the zillionth time, and turned to see her daily visitor, the Pink Yoshi. She had given up trying to get the Yoshi to help her escape, as apparently Mr. L had told her that she was demented or something. Oooh how she was going to slap him silly once she got out.

That right there was her problem. While Bowser DID do a good job with cages, Mr. L was a genius at it. Not only that, she had found out that Mr. L had handcrafted the bed she had been sleeping on the past two months. It was wierd...Mr. L rarely showed her disrespect, and made sure she was as comfy as can be. She had actually wondered if it was such a bad thing that she was a prisoner. She had gotten away from Mario and his fangirls, which was a pretty big relief for her, and the Pink Yoshi kept her plenty of company.

Although Mr. L was good at creating cages, his lock-smithing stunk to the point where she could probably open the lock with a twig. Which had prompted her to ask the Pink Yoshi if she could bring her some sticks.

"I want to make a little tower of sticks, since there isn't much else to do here." She had said.

The Pink Yoshi didn't see a problem with that and had brought her a few sticks every 2 days. To make sure the Yoshi didn't suspect her of anything, Peach had actually started to make a tower of sticks. After 2 weeks it was at least 5 feet tall. Peach had actually surprised herself with her own steady hand, but just in case, she hid the tower from Mr. L and only showed it to the Pink Yoshi.

Today was the day, however, for her escape. Mr. L had just checked up on her about half-an-hour ago, and wasn't due for his next check-up for another hour, so now was her chance to escape.

Using one of the sticks to un-lock the lock, she swung open the cage door and peeked out the front door. Just as she suspected, she was on Dinosaur Island, as the trees, cavemen and Pterodactyls indicated. Peach then ran past a few hills and ran for the horizon she had always been able to see from her prison. She found a hill, with something more.

"Luigi!?"

The green mustachioed bro. turned around in shock before laughing nervously.

"Whoops..." Luigi said as a sweatdrop slid down his head. "And to think I was so close too...."

"What's going on!?" The princess yelled in rage.

Just then, the Pink Yoshi ran up to Luigi, who was in his sandals, shorts and hat, before jumping around excitedly.

"Luigi-san! Luigi-san! Have you seen it!? Peach-san's stick tower is soooo big now! It's amazing!" She yelled excitedly.

It was then that the Pink Yoshi noticed Peach.

"Ah! Peach-san! You're finally outside! Luigi-san said that you would be coming outside soon, but I didn't think it'd be so soon!"

As Peach tried to figure out what was going on, Luigi took a deep breath.

"There goes all my hard-work..." He mumbled shaking his head back and forth.

"All right, that does it!" Peach screamed before stomping up to a not-so-surprised Luigi and grabbing his shirt collar. "WHAT IS GOING ON!?" She demanded.

Luigi sighed before looking at the setting sun.

"All right, I'll tell you..."

The princess loosened her grip.

"...after the sunset."

"Huh?" Peach said, confused, now completely losing her grip on Luigi, her hands falling to her sides.

"I said I'll tell you after the sunset. I always come out her at the end of the day before checking on you and then heading to bed."

The princess nodded and the three sat on the hill, watching the sun set in the twilight-lit sky. While she was anxious to hear what Luigi had to say for himself, she had to admit, the view was breathtaking. She could now understand why Luigi had wanted a summer home built here. When the sun had finally set, Luigi led them to the other building, the one that Luigi and Mario had stayed in during their summers here.

"All right, I said I owed you an explanation..."

Luigi snapped his fingers when a cage suddenly sprung up from the rug Peach and the Yoshi were standing on, trapping them both.

"...but I can't tell you quite yet." He said before heading over to the stove and began preparing two meals, fixing up some fruit for the Yoshi in the process.

"Luigi! What is going on!? First you kidnap me, pretending to be Mr. L, then this!? What are you planning?"

"I already told you that I can't tell you. So you'll just have to bare with me, Princess." Luigi said as a few moments later he slid a plate of expertly cooked food and some fruit for his prisoners into the cage.

Peach ate it, knowing that it was really Luigi and that he'd never poison her food, but kept a watchful eye on him none-the-less. She soon fell asleep however, as Luigi had turned on some really relaxing music. It was foreign music, but it still held a peaceful element to it, which lulled her and the Yoshi to sleep.

Once they were asleep, Luigi kept them in the cage, the one that would only open if someone snapped their fingers, and went to sleep.

~**April 29th Dinosaur Colloseum~**

Luigi had everything planned out, and had actually snuck past Mario as he was preparing for the fight, picking up his Pocket Poltergust and taking it back with him. The Pocket Poltergust didn't have as much space as the original Poltergust 3000, but it was easy to hide, and could transform into a smaller version of the original ghost capturing equipment.

Luigi didn't want ANYTHING to go wrong, so he made extra effort to make sure everything went well. The day of the fight, Luigi stood on the far side of the Colosseum dressed as Mr. L; Peach and the Pink Yoshi caged 30 feet behind him next to the old throne that King Koopa had once sat in. There he waited for Mario to arrive.

By the time the Plumber entered the colloseum, it was packed with Toadstools, Koopas, and even some boos, which Luigi showed the mini-gust to them, making sure they wouldn't interfere with the match.

He had found their mansion and proposed to King Boo II (the second) that he was not to butt-in on the fight. The threat that Luigi delivered hit them hard, especially when Luigi held up the old King's crown. Because Luigi was in possession of the crown, it showed that he was in charge and had defeated their previous leader, thus earning him their respect AND their cooperation.

But just to be sure, Luigi brought the equipment with him.

Mario, completely confident in his abilities, tried getting the crowd going, and did he do it. The entire colosseum was roaring with life and enthusiasm as they waited for the fight to start.

Mario got into his fighting stance, ready for the battle to start, while Luigi looked up at the clouds in the sky.

"After this fight........I'm moving here to stay..." Luigi mumbled to himself.

Turning his attention back to Mario, he called out to him.

"Are you ready for this Meatball?" Luigi failed to stop the chuckle that escaped his lips afterwards.

"READY AS EVER GREENIE!"

Luigi sighed. He needed work on his comebacks. A Toadstool slammed a gong, thus signalling the start of the match.

Mario jumped at Luigi the moment the gong was heard, and tried a thrust to his face. Luigi dodged easily, and continued to dodge Mario's flurry of attacks, before a thought occurred to him.

_'I've always wanted to try that attack anyway...why not? I DO need to make this convincing.'_

Mario, having won so many matches so easily in the past, was getting angrier and angrier at his lack of connections. And as everyone knows, the angrier a fighter is, the more mistakes he makes. So when Luigi pulled out a book and began reading it, Mario became infuriated. SO infuriated, that when he ran at Luigi and tried to land a kick to his upper body, Luigi easily dodged it. Mario went right along with his kick and tried to punch Luigi's face, when Luigi disappeared, reappearing behind Mario with his fingers in a hand-sign.

Half of the audience gasped as they recognized the situation from a popular comic book.

"Huh? Where did he...!"

It was too late for Mario.

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu, **ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH! LIGHTNING STYLE!**" Luigi yelled as he stuck his fingers up Mario's rear-end, sending the plumber flying to the other side of the stadium screaming and holding his rear-end. The difference between the two attacks was that Mario had been electrocuted the moment Luigi made contact with the plumber's rear-end.

What made the entire crowd go silent was when Luigi turned around and began giggling over the orange book in his hands. Even Peach and the Pink Yoshi were silent, a few purple lines running down the side of their heads.

When Mario didn't get up for awhile, Luigi was announced the victor. Mario woke up, his head spinning before noticing Mr. L walking over to him. Mario waited for the finishing blow, when he heard it.

"I hope you've learned your lesson."

Mario looked up, confused.

"I've been watching your actions through my other self's eyes, which is why I took over. Yes I wanted my revenge, but as a gentleman I cannot allow a beautiful maiden to be ignored while you run off with your fans!" Luigi said before sending Mario to the side with a swift kick.

Mario cracked his neck before saying, "What the hell is under there, weights?"

WHOMP!

Mario was met with a strap that had 10 pound weights in 4 different slots.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Why else did I have you wait more than a month? I needed to train my legs so that I could move as fast as the OTHER green warrior. Also, those are only a 10th of the weights that I was training with." He said grinning.

"Huh..." Mario grumbled as he glared at the weights in his hands.

Luigi sharply clapped his hands before the cage around Peach and the Pink Yoshi opened up, freeing them. As Peach and the Yoshi ran over to Mario, Luigi glared at Mario, who in turn walked over to the princess before bowing his head.

"Please forgive me for how I've been treating you, Princess. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Peach smiled before nodding her head.

"You are forgiven...both of you." She said turning towards Mr. L.

Mario turned to see Mr. L take off his mask, revealing Luigi's brilliant blue eyes.

"Glad to help, Princess."

"YOU MEAN YOU...!?"

"Yep. I've been at the summer home for the past month training my speed. How else would I be able to beat you?" Luigi said laughing. Luigi then stretched his arms before walking out of the stadium. "See you guys later." Luigi said as he walked back to the summer house. He had already gotten all of his things when he grabbed the mini-gust, not to mention that he left a letter there for Mario for when he got back.

**~1 week later~**

Luigi sat on the hill once again as the first rays of twilight were embracing the sky. The radio next to him playing 'Azu' (for you), and a small breeze leaving ripples on his short-sleave shirt. His hat sat off to the side and his hair blew along with his shirt. His arm was around a slender form, a mop of blonde hair resting on his shoulder. Her usual big pink dress was changed to a spaghetti string shirt and some shorts along with sandals, her crown lying in the grass next to her.

While he was surprised at her wanting to stay with him for a bit longer, he was happy. As the sun set though, Luigi remembered what he said to her when she first woke up as his, 'prisoner'. Turning to Peach and placing his gentle lips on her's, Luigi said,

"Sorry, you're going to be my prisoner for a little while longer..."

Peach merely smiled before pressing her lips back against Luigi's.

* * *

Kenta: I SO could have a done a better ending...

Eh, I guess it's not too bad... Hope you enjoyed it!

P.S. the song is Azu (for you) a Naruto Shippuden ending. (12 I think?)

**_Kenta Raikiri_**


End file.
